Reductive evolution and unique predatory mode in the CPR bacterium Vampirococcus lugosii.
David MoreiraYvan ZivanovicAna I López-ArchillaMiguel IniestoPurificacion Lopez-GarciaPublished in: Nature communications (2021)
The Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) constitutes a large group of mostly uncultured bacterial lineages with small cell sizes and limited biosynthetic capabilities. They are thought to be symbionts of other organisms, but the nature of this symbiosis has been ascertained only for cultured Saccharibacteria, which are epibiotic parasites of other bacteria. Here, we study the biology and the genome of Vampirococcus lugosii, which becomes the first described species of Vampirococcus, a genus of epibiotic bacteria morphologically identified decades ago. Vampirococcus belongs to the CPR phylum Absconditabacteria. It feeds on anoxygenic photosynthetic gammaproteobacteria, fully absorbing their cytoplasmic content. The cells divide epibiotically, forming multicellular stalks whose apical cells can reach new hosts. The genome is small (1.3 Mbp) and highly reduced in biosynthetic metabolism genes, but is enriched in genes possibly related to a fibrous cell surface likely involved in interactions with the host. Gene loss has been continuous during the evolution of Absconditabacteria, and generally most CPR bacteria, but this has been compensated by gene acquisition by horizontal gene transfer and de novo evolution. Our findings support parasitism as a widespread lifestyle of CPR bacteria, which probably contribute to the control of bacterial populations in diverse ecosystems.
Keyphrases
- cardiac arrest
- genome wide
- cardiopulmonary resuscitation
- genome wide identification
- induced apoptosis
- copy number
- cell cycle arrest
- dna methylation
- cell surface
- genome wide analysis
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- transcription factor
- cell death
- metabolic syndrome
- single cell
- physical activity
- type diabetes
- cardiovascular disease
- gene expression
- weight loss
- radiation therapy
- endothelial cells
- signaling pathway
- cell therapy
- multidrug resistant